Glances into the Heart's Connections
by Saesama
Summary: A series of oneshots about any and possibly all of the Kingdom Hearts cast. Contains spoilers. Next: A young Prince learns why it's bad to fear rejection.
1. Carry On Dancing

Theme: None

o o o

Vexen strode down the pristine halls of the castle, while the newest member of the Organization hurried after him, gawking around at the strange place he now called home. "You surprised us all, Nine." The scientist said, startling the younger Nobody. "We didn't expect you to fare so well against the Superior."

Demyx grinned proudly. "I was just in my element." He quipped, making Vexen roll his eyes. One part of joining the Organization was being able to survive five minutes against Xemnas in battle. The fights took place before the towering Skyscraper of Memory, where it was almost always raining. Saïx, in his blind rage, had nearly lost his footing several times on the slick asphalt, and the constant moisture was definitely a hindrance to Axel's use of fire. No one had expected Demyx to use the rain itself against the Superior, even if most of his 'fighting' had been creating walls of water separating himself from the silver-haired Nobody. Still, he had survived the required five minutes, and was now IX of the Organization.

Now, it fell upon Vexen to introduce the young Nobody to one of the more interesting points of being among the 'higher-ups'. The 'world' they were in forced it's rules upon every Nobody that made it's way there, and only those who had the strongest of wills avoided being turned into one of the strange, lithe Dusks. But they could force their will upon the Dusks, shaping them into specialized Nobody's. "As you work with the ones you choose," Vexen explained as they walked. "They will take on a form suitable to your purposes. And as more enter the castle, those with abilities suited to what you need will automatically join with your group, instead of needing to be recruited from the Dusks. I must warn you, though, that trying to shape them to channel your element will fail. They were all human, once, and like most humans, are not adept at controlling magic. Instead, direct them based on what you can do."

"Okay." Demyx said with a nod as Vexen opened a door. They came to stand on a balcony above a wide, open space that seemed to stretch for miles, with a high, vaulted ceiling. Off to the left, they could see a group of tall, angular Nobody's going through well-structured drills, a black shape before them marking the location of one of the Organization members. Far to the right was another group, the Nobody's all huge, hulking creations that towered over the dark-clad person in their midst. Vexen leaned over the railing of the balcony. "Xaldin, Saïx, a word, please? And bring one of your student's with you."

Two figures, one black, one white, broke away from each group, crossing the wide floor, and ascended the twin staircases that arced up to the balcony. Demyx cautiously eyed the other two Organization members, and the 'student's' behind them. Xaldin's Nobody hovered in the air behind him, blade-like wings flapping to keep it aloft, it's pointed, draconic head looking down at them. Saïx's Nobody stood behind it's master, leaning heavily on a huge, blunt weapon Demyx couldn't name.

"You see, Demyx," Vexen said, motioning at the two Nobody's. "That the Dusk's are highly mutable when subjected to the proper training. Xaldin's Dragoons are very powerful, having trained under his instruction for a long time. Saïx hasn't been working long, and already he has shaped his Dusk's into beings of great strength. Have you come up with a name yet, Seven?"

Saïx's lips curved into a smile that made Demyx feel distinctly nervous. "Berserkers." He replied.

Vexen looked at the hulking creature with a critical eye. "Fitting enough." He stated. "Demyx begins today. I hope the two of you will help him if needed?" Saïx nodded, and Xaldin shrugged, both before turning and heading down the stairs back to their Nobody groups.

Demyx looked nervously at Vexen. "So, what now?"

"This." The older Nobody replied. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers, the tiny sound echoing through the room. In the open space between the Dragoons and Berserkers, Dusks appeared, hundreds of them. "This is but a sample." Vexen said. "Go among them, and pick out the ones that best suit your purpose. They may seem all the same, but each is different from the next, as all people are."

"What if I don't even _know_ my 'purposes' yet?" Demyx asked worriedly.

Vexen shrugged, opening a dark portal. "Then walk among them until you're inspired." He replied, stepping through.

Demyx bit at his lip, looking down at the assembled Dusks, uncomfortably aware that each was looking up at him. "May as well get started." He muttered, walking down the stairs to stand before the creatures.

The Dusks were twitchy things, moving in oddly stilted rhythms. Demyx stared at them, turning over and discarding ideas. Musicians, each armed with a sitar like his? No, he used his to control water, and Vexen had said they couldn't do that. They could hit people with the sitars, but that wasn't Demyx's style. Aquatic Nobodys? No, that wouldn't work, he had legs now, not a tail, and besides, where would he train them? Lost in thought, he found his eyes drawn to a Dusk in the front row. He (she? it?) was twitching like the rest of them, hips and shoulders making figure-eights, but it's movements were more rhythmic than it's companions to either side.

That's what he'd do.

Reaching into the core of his being, Demyx called upon the brilliant blue sitar he'd used against Xemnas. The Dusks had all stopped moving at as the instrument appeared in his hands, watching him avidly, despite their eyeless state. Wondering what Xaldin and Saïx would make of his actions, he began to play. "Dance." He commanded the Dusks over the music. "As well as you can."

The Nobodys obeyed, some of them hesitating before starting to move again. Demyx kept the tune lively and rhythmic, walking among the group. Vexen had been right, like any group of normal people, their skills were varied. Some of them were barely moving at all, looking uncomfortable. Some were moving energetically, but lacked any sort of natural rhythm. And a few were truly dancing, swaying to the music in perfect rhythm, sometimes breaking into a more advanced dance move. He nodded to the best of the lot as he passed, and they fell in line behind him, still dancing.

He picked thirty out of the five hundred or so gathered Dusks. Saïx's group was about eighty Beserkers, and Xaldin had hundreds of the Dragoons, but Demyx figured that starting with a small group was best. He led his chosen Dusks out of the crowd, feeling absurdly like the Pied Piper of Atlantis, then turned back to the main group. "Um," He called out, his fingers stilling on the strings. "You all can go back to where you were, now." As one, they all disappeared, leaving Demyx to wonder where, exactly, they all went. Making a mental note to ask someone later, he faced his new students.

"Amazing, that you've picked all females."

Demyx whipped around at the voice. Xaldin stood just behind him, arms tucked behind his back. "Did you plan that?" He asked, nodding his head at the milling group.

Demyx shook his head. "I just picked the ones with the best rhythm." He said, leaning on his sitar. "How can you tell that they're all girls?"

"You learn the signs after a few years." Xaldin replied. He looked over the group, then at Demyx with a raised brow. "And what were you going to teach them?"

Demyx grinned, looking over the group of _his_ Nobody's. "The best fighters move like they're dancing." He said. "No reason the reverse shouldn't be true." He hefted his sitar back into his arms. "I just have to teach them to dance... violently." Xaldin snorted laughter, stepping back to watch as Demyx started playing again. At least the blond wasn't completely useless, as he had suspected, and suddenly, he wasn't as grumpy about losing that bet against Xigbar on whether the blond would survive against Xemnas.

o o o

This is going to be a series on one-shots, similar to 'Glances at the World's Hero's' I've got going on over in FFVII land. Some of them are randomly produces ideas pulled from the '100 Inspirational words' list (link found in my profile) some are ideas that I started, chose a theme for, and kept going with, some, like this one, lack any theme and are just straight writing.


	2. Are You Challenging Me?

Theme: #74 Are You Challenging Me?

o o o

"Teach me how to fight."

Sora blinked, sitting up from his position in the sand. Kairi was standing in front of him, arms crossed in determination. "What?" He asked, confused. "Why?"

"Remember the King's note?" Kairi said. "He said it probably wasn't over yet, that the worlds might need us again. Well, this time, I'm not going to sit here and be useless."

"You're a Princess, Kairi." Sora argued. "Everyone knows that Princesses don't fight."

"I fought those Heartless in that castle!"

"With Riku's help." Sora shot back before he flopped back down into the sand. However, a moment later he was rolling to the side as finely ingrained instincts took over, moving him out of harm's way. He stared in shock, as Kairi straightened from her lunge, a tropical-looking Keyblade in hand. "Where'd that come from?" He burst out.

"Riku gave it to me." She said, looking at the blade. "To fight those Heartless. I've been able to call on it ever since." She glared back at Sora. "But I don't know how to _fight_ with it."

"I can see that." Sora replied. Kairi gaped at him, looking first hurt, then furious. Sora grinned up at her, and she reacted just the way he expected. Instead of stomping off to cry somewhere, like the Kairi of old would have done, she gave a frustrated battle-cry and leapt at him with the Keyblade.

Sora went from resting on his hands and knees to leaping in the air above Kairi's head, landing behind her. "Gotta do better than that." He laughed. If she wanted to learn, fine. She was going to learn the same way he and Riku had taught each other. He kept up a smug grin as she came at him again, swinging the bright blade as she came. Each time, he was there until the last possible second before ducking, dodging, or simply leaping right over her head. Soon, she was breathing heavily, her face etched with frustration. "C'mon, Kairi." He taunted, doing a quick backflip. "Stop _trying,_ and hit me already!"

The look she gave him then immediately made his stomach drop into a deep vat of guilt. Tears stood in the corners of her eyes as she backed away from him, her lip trembling. A hiccuping sob escaped her throat as she turned from him, shoulders shaking.

Sora felt like impaling himself on his own Keyblade. "Hey, Kairi." He said, going up to her and laying a hand on her shoulder. "Don't cry-"

"Ha!" Sora barely had time to realized he'd been tricked before Kairi's Keyblade slammed into his stomach, knocking him back. He fell with the blow, his shoulders taking most of the impact, and he found himself lying in the sand with a rather flowery blade at his neck. Kairi grinned down at him. "I'm not as weak as I once was, Sora." She stated.

"I can see that, too." He said. He called his Keyblade to his hand, knocking hers away and rolling back into a crouch. "Let's try this again." He said, ignoring the twinge of pain in his stomach at the movement. "Try and hit me again, and this time, tears won't work."

Kairi nodded, taking a better grip on her Keyblade before running forward again.


	3. 67 Percent

Theme: #70 67

o o o

He stared at the screen, his forehead almost touching the smooth glass. His hands were tangled deep in his hair-

_too long too smooth_

as he hunched forward, leaning on his elbows, the screen's readout reflecting in his eyes-

_wrong color wrong shape_

He hadn't moved for hours. _He_ had come in at one point, had stood at his shoulder as if wanting to say something, but no words had been spoken and eventually, _he_ left in a swirl of red fabric. Good riddance to bad company.

_god why am I here isn't there a better way to do this?_

The spikes of the graph were moving, shifting - he was awake, running around a simulated town with simulated friends while his other half slept dreamless in the white. But the cool blue-green number didn't change, and the cool white voice didn't sound an alert that they were one step closer to their goal.

_been so long since she started how much longer how much more how much more time?_

He didn't care about what _he_ wanted. _He_ wanted revenge. He only wanted his friend back.

"Restoration at sixty-seven percent."

One step closer, and Riku wondered if he'd go insane before that cool, white voice got to eighty-five.


	4. Seeing Red

Theme: #86. Seeing Red

o o o

The boy clung to the arm of his chair, trying to not move, to not cringe away from the buzzing needle currently marking his face. He could do this. He could do it, he wouldn't cry he wouldn't flinch he could handle this he could he could he could -

"Need to scream, boy?" Uncle Mitch, from behind, who's strong hands were holding his head still.

"Uh huh." The tattooist - his cousin, Baja - chuckled and sat back. The boy in the chair immediately howled in pain, blood, tears, and dribbles of red-brown ink running down his cheeks.

The loud noise raised a laugh from the from the surrounding crowd of men. Redheads, each and every one, some dark red-brown, some pale red-blond, some bright red-orange curls, some, like the boy in the chair, brilliant candy-apple red. They were all there, watching the boy gain his marks, watching him get the red-brown tattoo's along his cheekbones that were the family's sign of manhood.

The boy's watering eyes scanned the crowd - there. Near the back wall, hair as bright as his own, a blue suit, and a too-dangerous grin as he spoke to the one non-family member present. "How's it feel, kid?" He asked the boy, grinning.

"About how you look," He shot back. "Painful as fuck on the eyes."

The comment earned the boy another round of laughter, and a couple claps to the shoulders. He knew, if his mother had been there, she would have chewed him out for such a thing. But this was for the men only, the women had their own rituals to go through.

He steeled himself for the pain, laying back in the chair again. Uncle Mitch gripped either side of his head, and Baja started the needle up again, leaning over him with a grin. The boy stared across the room, focusing on the blue-suited man and the marks beneath his eyes. He was the oldest, the golden child of their rough, wild family, the first in the generation to make it above the plate, and the boy wished only to be like him.

Then his vision was obscured with tears of pain, and the buzzing of the needle-gun was echoing through his head. He grit his teeth, fingers digging into the wooden arm rest as Baja finished the sweeping, elongated drop shapes that traced the lines of his cheekbones. Finally, the torture was finished, and Mitch was carefully wiping his face with a clean scrap of cloth, and the boy sat up, no longer a boy, but a man within the family.

Reno came up to him, grinning down at the youngest of his brothers. "Well, sorry I can't stay for the party, Ale," He said regretfully. "Work's a bitch right now. But next time I get a day or so, you an' me'll go up to the Saucer, alright?"

"I'm holding you to that." The boy replied with a grin. "Don't go getting shot on me before we go." He then frowned, and poked his brother in the arm. "And don't call me 'Ale'. It's _Alejandro_. Got it memorized?"

o o o

Everyone and their grandma knows about the similarities between Axel and FFVII's Reno (If you don't know, they have the same voice actors in Japanese and English, red hair, bad-ass attitudes, and marks under their eyes. Rumor has it, Nomura even said Axel was a kind of alternate Reno) Well, everyone and their grandma also thinks Axel is Reno's Nobody. I obviously don't think the same :3


	5. Do Not Disturb

Theme: #63 Do Not Disturb

o o o

The door creaked open, a dark-haired head peeked in, and immediatly disappeared again as a spear launched out of nowhere at it. The owner of the aforementioned head appeared again across the room, arms crossed. "Now, that wasn't nice." He admonished the figure in the deep easy chair. "You could take an eye out with those things."

Xaldin didn't look up from his book. "One eye or no, I know you can read, Xigbar."

"What, this?" Xigbar snorted, twirling the 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign that had been on the doorknob around his finger. "What about it?"

Xaldin let out a sigh through his nose. "It means 'get the hell out of here before I make you completely blind instead of only half."

"In case you forgot, Xal," Xigbar stated, seating himself in mid-air. "I outrank you, therfore, I can go wherever I want."

"A mere technicality due to your age, _old man._"

"Watch it, Three, you don't want to wake up bald tomorrow."

"I could threaten you with the same."

Xigbar reached out, grabbed a majority of Xaldin's braids, and pulled them through the hole in the sign. "Should wear that all the time." He cackled, disappearing as several spears pierced the space he had recently occupied. Xaldin snarled and ripped the sign from his hair, promising revenge on the other Nobody.

o o o

I love these two. I really do. They're like the Valenwind of KH, in so many ways.


	6. Mirror

Theme: #75 Mirror

o o o

"Still looking for me, I see."

Xemnas paused in the act of turning a page of Saïx's report, his eyes closing at the sudden rush of longing that slammed into his system. He heard a black chuckle from the one who had spoken, could feel the disturbances the creature's movements made in the air. Why? Why did he have to come here, to taunt him, to stand before him and remind him of everything he strove for, everything he _wished_ for.

He knew damned well why. After all, they had once been one and the same.

"Ansem, Seeker of Darkness." Xemnas intoned, finally finishing his aborted turn of a page. "What brings you to this little corner of Nothing?"

A snort, full of all of the amusement and disgust and cruelty Xemnas could no longer feel properly. "I came to check up on your pathetic 'Kingdom Hearts', my Other." The Heartless replied, strolling around the Nobody's desk to stand before one of the great windows. "And to let you know that I shall open the door long before you do."

"The Princesses."

A grin was turned on him, maliciously bright. "I have 'friends' who yet linger in the light." Ansem said. "Who are bringing them to me, one by one. You should know, too, that the Keyblade is out and about again."

"I heard." Xemnas said flatly. "A mere boy, still years from becoming a man."

"Oh, but what a strong heart he has." Ansem sighed, almost fondly. "I'll enjoy crushing it. Maybe his Nobody would join your little club."

"How kind of you, sending me my own Keybearer." Xemnas replied, eyes still on the report, even if he was no longer reading it. "It would speed things up."

"Kingdom Hearts will be mine, long before you get there, Nobody."

Xemnas looked up, at the creature across the room, so alike and so different from himself. "You'll be pulled in, Heartless." He said softly. "You'll be forced to join back with the collective heart, trapped by your own pride. And I will walk in and take you back with so little effort."

The Heartless was suddenly in front of him, hands splayed on the desktop and their noses a mere inch from each other. "The first thing I do," He answered, in the same tone Xemnas had used. "When it is mine, will be to destroy you and all of your pathetic kind."

Xemnas grinned, cold and emotionless. "You cannot destroy that which does not exist."

o o o

Because Xemnas and Ansem so needed to have a showdown 8D


	7. No Time

Theme: #24 No Time

o o o

Saïx frowned when he saw the newest member of the Organization further down the hall. He hadn't been in the castle when the blond was inducted, but he had heard from Axel about the man's fight with Xemnas. Apparently, the five minutes they were all supposed to last against the Superior meant nothing to him, for Time was his to control. He had simply jumped the entire world ahead five minutes and asked politely for his own cloak.

_Not that being able to control Time isn't useful,_ the berserker thought, speeding up a bit to catch up with the shorter Nobody. _But I'd rather know if he can actually fight._ He followed him around a corner, into a long, wide hallway lined with windows along one wall, then spoke up. "Ten, a word."

Luxord turned around, one pale brow going up. "You must be Seven." The blond said pleasantly. "Xemnas told me you'd want to meet me when you returned."

Saïx acknowledged this with a nod. "I heard about your... fight, with the Superior." He replied.

Luxord smiled faintly. "You don't think it was a fight at all, do you?" He asked.

"I only wonder," Saïx explained. "If you're capable of anything beyond the manipulation of Time."

Luxord's smile grew utterly devilish as he held out his hand. In his palm, there appeared a deck of cards, utterly harmless pieces of cardboard to Saïx's eyes. He watched, wondering if he was being mocked, as the blond sprang all but a few of the cards from one hand to the other, then held up the remaining ones in a fan. There were four, three with a blue pattern of the Nobody symbol, and one with a single curving red heart. "Find your heart, if you can." Luxord intoned, snapping the fan shut, then opening it again with the card backs towards Saïx.

Saïx frowned again, eyes ticking between the smirking Nobody and the cards. Luxord hadn't even shuffled the cards around before presenting the choice, but the berserker highly doubted the heart was in the same spot. Wondering, literally, what Luxord's game was, he raised his hand, hesitated, and picked one of the cards.

A three of 'Nobody's'.

A second later there was a flash of white light and Saïx felt himself _changing._ He tried to lunge at Luxord, to make the spell stop, but all he did was stumble stiffly forward, the change complete. He couldn't figure out exactly how he was different, but his limbs didn't want to move in any direction, and he felt rather... flat.

Luxord grinned, stooping to pick up the card Saïx had dropped before turning and continuing down the hall again. "It'll wear off in a moment." He called back over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner again.

Saïx snarled mentally, aware that his mouth wasn't capable of moving. He _could_ move though, a clumsy sort of rocking hop as he turned himself towards the window to see what he had become.

The reflection showed him to be a six-foot playing card with a _very_ realistic depiction of himself on the front and Saïx no longer doubted Luxord's ability to defend himself.

o o o

Sometimes, ideas just hit like bricks out of left feild. This would be one of those.


	8. But Cloud, I am you

Theme: None

o o o

Sora smiled and turned from his friends. Donald and Mickey had known Goofy a lot longer than he had, and he let them have their moment. Though he could have cheerfully throttled the dog for putting them through such grief. A sudden commotion made him look back. More people were crowding into the crystalline cave; Leon and Aerith, the young woman healing an injury on the man's arm, Yuffie and Tifa, exchanging high-fives, Cid with a long spear slung over one shoulder, Cloud looking grim. The others stayed near the entrance, exchanging words with the King, but Cloud moved past Sora to look out the other end of the cave.

"Cloud?" Sora asked cautiously, approaching the blond. "What is it?"

"He's out there." Cloud replied. "Just past here." His brows furrowed. "There are other things, too."

"Heartless?" Sora questioned.

"And Nobodies." Cloud answered. He let out a short sigh. "And Sephiroth."

"Then here's your chance." Leon said, coming up on Sora's other side. "The Keyblade is the only thing that can release your heart from him. The rest of us can back you up. You won't get another chance at this, Cloud."

Sora looked between the two men in confusion. "Wait, what do you mean, 'his heart'?" He demanded.

Cloud merely looked at the boy without speaking, and it was Tifa who answered. "Sora," She said gently. "Sephiroth is Cloud's Heartless. Cloud is a Nobody."

Sora gaped, wide-eyed. "You gotta be kidding me." He said finally.

Cloud snorted, looking back out of the cave. "You thought I was a real person? I'm flattered. The Organization members aren't the only Nobodies out there."

Sora snapped his mouth shut with an audible click. "So, what's the plan?" He asked. "We take down Sephiroth, get your heart back, and try not to get killed?"

"Something like that."

"Welp," King Mickey said. "It's ten to one if we all work together. I'd say we have a pretty good chance."

Cloud laughed hollowly. "You'd think so, anyway." He said softly, staring out past the cave.

o o o

As the Keybearer, Sora had seen many Heartless. But few of them had scared him as Sephiroth did.

They had approached as a group, not bothering to sneak up on the Heartless, and as they approached, he turned to watch then with eyes that weren't yellow, but brilliant green. Those strange eyes took them all in, one by one, ending at Cloud with a smile. "I see you finally realized that you can't beat me alone." He said softly, mockingly.

"Wasn't my idea." Cloud said gruffly, readying his sword. "But if they insist, I won't stop them."

Sephiroth's smile widened as he turned to face them fully. "You realize, I'm going to destroy you all." He said conversationally. His eyes narrowed sharply at Aerith. "And I'll enjoy every second of it."

"You can try." Cid retorted, swinging his spear off his shoulder.

"You have to land the last blow, Sora." Leon said lowly to the Keybearer. "But you can't destroy him, you have to 'unlock' him. Get it?"

Sora nodded, the Keyblade held tight in his hands. "I'll see what I can do." He answered.

"Spread out." Cloud ordered. "He'll just take us all down at once if we're together."

As they obeyed, Sephiroth watched them, still smiling. "You may as well give up." He said. "This foolishness won't work."

"Is that so?" Cloud asked, before launching himself forward.

Cloud's leap seemed to be their cue, and as one, the assembled fighters dove in on the silver-haired Heartless. Sephiroth watched them approach without moving, until, just as Cloud's sword was about to connect with his head, he disappeared.

It was easy to realize that he was toying with them, not even drawing his sword as he dodged blades, spells and fists, disappearing and reappearing in a dozen spots across the rocky plateau. Then, in a moment of almost pure luck, he reappeared just as Yuffie launched a shuriken. The multi-bladed weapon skimmed across his arm, drawing not blood but wisps of darkness behind it. There was an odd pause as the Heartless turned towards the young woman. "For that," He said coldly. "You go first." A second later, Masamune was in his hand as he flew towards the Wutaian.

Sephiroth, however, wasn't the only one who could teleport. Yuffie disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Masamune to slice through nothing substantial. He barely ducked Tifa's kick to the face, his smile entirely gone in favor of cold anger as he turned, sword deadly bright in his hands.

Sephiroth was good, damned good. But even he could only divide his attention so far. They began actually landing blows, only a few, but it was something, and it gave them all courage. But it was obvious that unless they figured out something, Sephiroth would simply wear them all down.

Aerith watched, biting her lip nervously, as Cloud and Leon attempted to double-team the Heartless. Combat wasn't her specialty, and the staff she carried was more to defend herself if Sephiroth or anything else decided to turn it's attention her way. She was good with spells of any type, though, and sent them along whenever she had a clear shot. she knew, though, that something else had to be done, and soon. But what?

An idea glimmered in the back of her mind. It would be difficult, dangerously so, but if they could pull it off... she grabbed Tifa and Goofy by the sleeve as they passed and pulled them away, speaking quickly in a hushed tone.

They didn't get long to speak before a quicksilver arc came in their direction. Goofy blocked Masamune with his shield, deflecting the dangerous weapon aside. "No secrets allowed." Sephiroth said coolly, using Masamune's momentum to push Goofy aside, standing before Aerith.

Aerith's response was a smile and a fast hand movement. "Stop!" She cried, thrusting out both hands towards him.

Sephiroth's eyes had time to widen in response before he was frozen stiff. Obviously, he hadn't expected her to actually cast a spell strong enough to affect him. Not that the spell would hold him long, but it would long enough.

Goofy and Tifa were already moving the instant Aerith had cast the spell. They each grabbed the Heartless by one wrist, and with a twist, swung him around and into the air. The others quickly caught on. Yuffie launched a barrage of shuriken, aiming not at Sephiroth's body but his wing, shredding relatively delicate flesh and feathers in hopes of throwing off his balance. Cloud and Leon leapt in tandem, blades slicing along either side of Sephiroth, nearly tearing away the ancillary wings beneath his coat.

Cid took a running leap, bouncing off the cliff face to jump above the Heartless, using his spear to drive Sephiroth back towards the earth. Aerith collapsed back, her hold on the spell broken, but before Sephiroth could orient himself again, blasts of white magic and whistling rockets descended on him, obscuring him in a cloud of sparks and smoke, courtesy Mickey and Donald.

Sora darted forward and braced the Keyblade against one narrow hip. Sephiroth landed on the blade chest first, his face a mere inch from the Keybearers and contorted in pain and rage. "Give Cloud back his heart." Sora demanded, giving the Keyblade, still embedded in Sephiroth's chest, a firm twist.

Sephiroth's eyes went wide. As Sora watched, almost spell-bound, they slowly turned brilliant yellow, without pupil or iris, as most other Heartless had. Sephiroth's body contorted, melting in on itself, and Leon yanked Sora back before the dark matter could land on the boy. The darkness fell to the ground, writhing, no longer recognizable as Sephiroth in any way. As they all watched, a crystalline Heart rose from the matter, breaking free of the grasping darkness to twirl slowly through the air.

Sora blinked as a black shape shot past him and leapt after the Heart. Cloud caught his heart in mid air, and though Sora knew that heart's had no substantial form, Cloud looked to be hugging it close. Then the darkness shot up, wrapping a smoky tendril that looked very much like a hand around Cloud's leg, and pulled the Nobody into it. Cloud sank into the darkness without a sound, and both disappeared.

"Cloud!" Tifa cried, all of them running towards the spot they had last seen him. No trace of either Nobody or Heartless was left.

"We ain't got time to wait for him." Cid said grimly, pointing with his spear back towards Hollow Bastion. Heartless were swarming back into the area, still pouring from Maleficent's castle. The space between them and their home was a sea of black. "We've got to get back." The mechanic continued. "We can't let them overtake the city."

Casting one last look at the ground, Leon nodded shortly. "Sora, pull that transforming trick of yours and go on point. The rest of us will follow as close as possible. Head straight for the castle gate as fast as possible."

"Right." Sora replied. he reached out, taking Donald and Goofy's hands in his own, letting their power rush through his system. A moment later he was running through the stone valleys in the bright yellow of the Master form, the King and Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee close behind.

Unfortunately for Sora, he could only hold his forms a short time before Donald and Goofy were torn from him and he dropped back to his regular self. It happened as they were crossing a wide, flat area. One second his dual Keyblades were biting into Heartless left and right, the next, he was staggering back into Leon, gasping for breath as Donald and Goofy appeared beside him. "At least you got us half way." Leon said, steadying the boy with one hand and launching a fireball into a Heartless with the other. "But we still have to hurry."

Sora nodded, pulling himself upright and looking with dismay at the sea of Heartless before him. A scream caught his attention and he spun around. A flock of red-purple Wyverns had descended on the back of the group, and one had it's massive hind claws digging into Aerith's shoulders, pulling her away from the rest of them. Aerith screamed again, trying to hit the Heartless with her staff as it attempted to lift off with her in tow. Cid and Yuffie were both trying to get to her as more Heartless poured around them, and even as Sora watched, another Wyvern slammed out of the sky, pinning Tifa to the ground.

But before either Sora or Leon could properly react, two swords shot out of nowhere like oversized darts, one slicing cleanly through the Heartless that held Aerith, the other through the one on Tifa, both blades coming to a quivering halt point first in the ground.

Sora knew the blade on his right well. He'd seen Cloud fight often enough to recognize the Buster Sword, even without the usual swath of bandages. The one on his left, he realized he also knew, though he'd seen it rarely; Masamune was a hard weapon to forget. What he didn't recognize was the figure that landed between the two swords. The man was tall, though not as tall as Sephiroth had been, and his hair was a jagged corona of black spikes around his face and half way down his back. He pulled both of the massive swords from the ground as easily as Yuffie wielded her shuriken and turned towards them, his face split by a brilliant grin.

"It's about time you showed up." Cid snapped at the man, his spear slicing through the air.

"Nice to see you, too, old man." The stranger laughed. "But this don't seem the place for a reunion." Even as he spoke, the huge blades in his hands were swinging around, cutting through whole ranks of Heartless. He tipped a wink at Aerith and jumped into the air, coming down in front of Sora and landing in a run towards the castle. "Last one home buys dinner!" He called back.

As they started running behind the man, Sora blinked when Leon let out a low chuckle. "He hasn't changed a bit." The gunblader said.

Sora glanced at the man now far ahead of them. "He seems too happy to be half Cloud."

"I doubt it's a lot of fun being a Nobody."

o o o

This one is the second half of a much longer mildly AU fic. The original was inspired by watching FFVII: Last Order, then playing KHII, and hearing Sephiroth's line 'I am you'. That, and I love Zack 8D


	9. Hero

Theme: 68. Hero

o o o

Hayner was always the Hero. Olette was always the Princess. Pence was always the Sidekick.

They ran, laughing and shouting through the streets of Twilight down, swinging foam Struggle bats with a lot of enthusiasm and not a lot of skill. Hayner the Hero, with Pence the Squire, or Pence the Bard, or Pence the Court Magician, off to save the beautiful Princess Olette from the evil Lord Seifer his Royal Guardians, Rai and Fuu, and the Dark Wizard, Vivi.

Over buildings, and under buildings, and between buildings, there was no place unknown to them, there was no place where Lord Seifer wouldn't make his dark fortress, and there was no place the Great Hayner and Wise Pence wouldn't follow. Sewers, rooftops, alleys, abandoned shops, the junk yard, the train stations, the woods, even the bare space before the towering Mansion.

The game changed over the years, as they aged and lost interest in childish play, but it never quite stopped. No one of them would admit that, even during the Struggle tournaments, they all saw the Great Hayner facing off with the Dark Knight Seifer in a battle to the death.

Then they met a real Hero.

A boy, their age, maybe even a bit younger, but with eyes that spoke of far away places and long-unseen friends. Unafraid to laugh, unafraid to cry, torn between all he wanted to be, and all he needed to be.

They met a real Princess.

A girl so pure of heart she could be nothing but, slim and lovely and looking for those she had lost. Sad with the loss of those she sought, happy with the gain of new friends, and always, always, looking beyond the walls of the Usual Spot towards a horizon they could only dream of.

They met real Sidekicks.

A duck and a dog, as intelligent and living as any person. A magician and a knight who gave advice, who gave support, who laughed, who argued, who spoke of a far-off castle, who spoke of a King, and in the end, who followed the boy to the ends of the universe.

They met real Villains.

Black coats and hair of fire red, hair of moonlit blue, two men none of them could so much as touch with their Struggle bats. Odd, inhuman white beings that twitched and floated and sank into the earth and disappeared and reappeared and were never the same twice. Dark figures with yellow eyes and hungry mouths that clawed and bit and scratched and tore and had even more variety than the white things.

Hayner had always been the Hero. Olette had always been the Princess. Pence had always been the Sidekick.

Then they learned that all of their play was nothing compared to the real thing.

o o o

Remember the scene where Pence and Hayner tried to tackle Axel and keep him from Kairi? Yeah.


	10. Under the Rain

Theme: Under the Rain

o o o

He hated the rain.

She couldn't understand it - or him, for that matter. He spoke a little Chinese, his birth tongue, she managed to figure out, but the amount was small indeed, the simplest words in a child's vocabulary. She knew little more than his name, that where he came from was a dry country, and that, once upon a time, before their worlds were destroyed, they had both known a boy with a key.

When the sky grew cloudy, he grew anxious, constantly looking for shelter, in case rain started to fall. And when it did, he immediately headed for cover, glaring sourly at the cold water that streamed past the entrance to wherever he had run to. Storms, she supposed, were rare on his world, lasting only minutes, quite unlike these long, drawn out squalls that reminded her of home.

But now, there was no shelter near, only narrow trees all but stripped by the autumn winds, and the sky above was looking ominous indeed. He kept looking up, worrying at his lip as the sky grew darker with no cover in sight. She thought that it would be a short storm, cold, but not strong, just enough to wet the wind-dried earth beneath their feet. At least, it would lay some of the dust by. Trying to communicate that to her companion, though, would only serve to make them both frustrated with the language barrier between them.

Instead, she stopped walking, untying the well-oiled canvas that was her tent from her pack. He only slept in the tent when the weather was bad, preferring to look at the strange stars above as he fell asleep. But it could easily serve another purpose.

He was looking at her oddly, then moved to take the tent supports from his own pack. She waved at him to stop, shaking out the roll of canvas. Using simple sign language, she directed him to crouch down close to the ground, and when he did, she followed suit beside him, hunkering close and spreading the canvas across their shoulders. He caught on, tugging the cloth in tighter on his side, helping her arrange it into a hood over their heads. Just in time, too, as the sky above opened in a cold pour.

The only cold that reached them was the water that sprayed into their faces as they looked out from their shelter. Inside, it was warm and dry, if a little cramped. They stayed like that for the duration of the storm, knee to knee and shoulder to shoulder, and in the quick glances she stole at him, she saw him relax when they stayed dry.

Less than an hour later, the storm tapered off, first a light drizzle, then a few scattered drops. With a groan, he stood, loosening the cramps in his knees as he shook the extra water off the oiled canvas. She stood as well, but as she straightened, her stiff leg threatened to spill her to the ground. He caught her by the arm with an exclamation she didn't understand literally, but had learned the gist of as they had traveled together. She held onto his arm, stretching the aching limb, then gave him a small smile when she could stand properly again. Working together, they finished shaking out the canvas and rolled it into a neat bundle again, lashing it to her pack. Hefting all of her worldly belongings up onto her back, she looked around, regaining their bearings. If they walked fast, they could be at the next city by nightfall.

"Mulan." She blinked at her name, looking around at him. He smiled, dark eyes sparkling warmly, and tapped the tent roll across her shoulders. "_Doh jeh._" He said clumsily, one of the few Chinese words he knew, thanking her.

"_Afwan_, Aladdin." She managed, hoping she hadn't mangled the response too much. He grinned, then pointed in the direction they had been heading, raising a brow. She nodded and they started off again. Someday, she hoped, they would know enough of each other's languages to speak freely.

_Then again,_ she thought, looking at her companion. _I guess we aren't doing all that bad now._

o o o

Um, yeah.

The idea behind this came from about the same place my Ariel/Leon stories came from; a solid, clear mental image that came out of nowhere. This time, it was of Mulan landing in a strange world after her world was destroyed, and ending up throwing her lot in with a group of men that had all known Sora in the past, namely Aladdin, Hercules, and Tarzan XD I think it was the obvious communication issues that amused me the most.

And as for Aladdin's 'birth tongue', read the book. He's Chinese. But since the movie is set in Arabia somewhere, I doubt he knows a lot of Chinese.

Translations: Doh jeh - 'Thank you' in Cantonese. Afwan - 'You're welcome' in Arabic. As for these, I'm unsure if I'm using them correctly. They appeared most often in my Google searches, with those spellings, so that's how they're used here.


	11. Memory

Theme: #11 Memory

o o o

_And to think, a lifetime ago, most of these people were doing their best to kill me._

Not that Alex could remember most of that other life. Just tiny fragments, little bits here and there that sprung up, and if he hadn't gotten Medy to admit to the same, he'd have thought he was insane. But dear Med's had admitted it, and together, they had confronted the rest of them, had learned, that once upon a time on the edge of nothing, they had all been part of something. Something big, and dark, and they had all died in the name of a group none of them wanted to be in.

His introspective musings were cut short by a frisbee to the side of the head.

"Way to pay attention, Red!"

Making a face, he snatched the frisbee from the ground and whipped it back at the laughing blond woman. Relena squeaked and ducked, and Rudol caught the frisbee in mid-air. "Can't a guy muse in peace?" Axel snapped, shaking a fist at his oddly assorted friends.

"Not in the middle of a playing field, obviously." Asi called over from a nearby bench, long legs crossed before him. Next to him, Mina giggled into her sketchbook, and Alex just _knew_ she was drawing the expression on his face when he was hit.

"Why don't you get out here, too, Seven?" Rauliam cajoled, catching Rudol's throw and shooting the plastic disc at Medy.

"I think I'll pass, Eleven." The scarred man replied, sitting back in his seat.

It was so odd, having memories of each other from an entirely different life, knowing each other by the wrong names before they knew the right ones. But whatever they had been _before,_ partners or prey or sworn enemies, they got along remarkably well this time around. Axel knew _they_ were around, too. He'd seen them in town, One through Six, and as a rule, the two groups avoided each other as much as possible. Asi was probably the only one _they_ looked at without outright hostility, maybe Rudol as well. Alex would have been quite happy if he never had to see _them_ again.

But there was one person he wouldn't mind seeing. Their little group was incomplete, one missing from the bunch, and Alex sometimes despaired ever seeing him again. Sure, Mina was there, but she had never seen him in this life, either. Maybe he'd been fully absorbed by his Other in that shadowy past life, and wasn't there to be reborn again. Or maybe he WAS reborn, and had died at birth. Or maybe he didn't remember anything, or maybe Alex just thought about things like this too damn much.

"Um, 'cuse me."

Or maybe someone up there DID love him, and had finally deigned to answer his wish.

Alex spun around. Standing before him was a young blond man who looked quite uncomfortable and a bit confused. Behind him, Alex was aware of the game stopping, of the rest of them gathering to examine this all too familiar newcomer. The blond kid's eyes shot nervously at the group, then looked back at Alex. "Um," He said hesitantly. "This might sound weird, but do I know you? You're Axel, right?"

Alex felt his face split into a wide, silly grin. "It's about time you showed up, Roxas." He said.

The blond's eyes widened, then he grinned as well and let out a whoop of joy. Alex laughed wildly, scooping up his one-upon-a-time best friend right off the ground in a hug. He heard Relena admonishing him to be careful and not drop the kid on his head, he heard Medy sniffle something about beautiful reunions, but most of all he heard Roxas laughing, bright and open and finally, finally, they were together again.

o o o

www.deviantart. com /deviation / 39215254

This place hates URL's, so copy/paste and remove the spaces to see the picture that set me to writing this one.


	12. No Way Out

Theme: # 59 No Way Out

o o o

Kairi was terrified.

The man with the red hair and black coat wasn't cruel, but he completely ignored her pleas and frantic struggles as he all but dragged her through dark alley's and neon-lit streets. He kept one hand firmly around her wrist, and a gleaming weapon she couldn't name to save her life swung almost lazily from his other hand. The threat of the weapon wasn't aimed at her, she had realized, but at the numerous heartless that crowded the shadows and stared at them with hungry eyes.

No, not at them, at _her._ The heartless didn't even look at him.

"You might want to shut up." Axel said, cutting across a her assurance that he'd be sorry, the first thing he'd said since catching her in Twilight Town. At her startled look, he jerked his head towards the icy-white castle that loomed over the city. "Trust me, you don't want _them_ to hear you." He said, almost pleasantly. "_They_ make me look like a kindly uncle."

"What are you going to do to me?" She demanded, trying to sound tough and brave. She didn't _feel_ very tough, in fact, she felt not a little sick, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

"You want to see Sora," He said, leading her further from the castle with every step. "I want to see Sora. He comes after you, we both get what we want."

Kairi bit her lip. She _did_ want to see him, and Riku, and take them both back to Destiny Islands, but not at the whim of this strange man. She looked around desperately, hoping to see something, anything, that could help her. Only heartless looked back. Even that strange yellow dog was gone, her captor had sent him running and howling in pain with a well-placed kick. She was on her own. She wracked her mind, trying to find some way of convincing him to let her go, and found absolutely nothing. Axel was immune to threats and pleas, she'd even tried bribing him with the promise of thousands of munny if he took her home. None of it worked.

Glaring at the back of his head, an idea came to her. It was something she swore she'd never do, after watching Tidus roll on the ground in agony after getting hit with a mis-fired blitzball, but it was probably the only thing that would get her free from his grip. Gathering her courage, she faked a stumble, going down to one knee. When he turned towards her, tugging impatiently at her wrist, she rammed her free arm up between his legs as hard as she could.

For a moment, he seemed frozen, his hand tightening on her wrist until she could feel the bones grinding. Then his face went white and he dropped to the asphalt like a brick, letting go of her arm in the process. Immediately Kairi scrambled up and ran, not knowing where she was going, and not caring.

She turned one way, then another, dodging black claws and yellow eyes as she went. A heartless rose before her, right in her path, and she nearly screamed when a yellow shape pounced on it and tore it to shreds. The dog again, running beside her, and Kairi felt a warm surge of gratitude and promised herself that the creature would never, ever, want for anything in it's life. Side by side, they bolted through the streets.

A hot stitch pulsed in her side, but Kairi didn't want to slow down. For all she knew, Axel was up and after her already, and if she stopped, he might find her. Breathing heavily, she shot a quick look back over her shoulder. Nothing but heartless. Suddenly, the dog barked, and she looked forward in time to stop herself from running face first into a black-clad chest. She tried to turn and run again, but hands grabbed her, one around her wrist, the other around her throat. Denied the air to scream by her running, she had no choice but to look at her new captor.

His eyes were cold, brilliant amber and without the tiniest spark of feeling. He looked at her closely, brows furrowed towards an X-shaped scar on his nose, then he gave her a smile every bit as frozen as his eyes. "So, you're Kairi." He said. "I've wanted to meet you." Suddenly he spun her around, the hand at her throat pulling her against his chest. Axel stood just down the street, his face still pale, two of the strange weapons in hand. "Don't make me kill her, Axel." The scarred man said from somewhere above her head. "I know you don't care about her, but Roxas won't forgive you for it." At the name 'Roxas', Axel blanched again and disappeared into a portal of inky darkness.

At the level of their knees, Pluto was growling at the man, who ignored the dog completely. "You're going to come with me." He commanded, opening a portal before them. "And if you try the same trick on me that you used on Axel, I guarantee you'll suffer for it."

o o o

So... ever wonder just _how_ Kairi got away from Axel? I did 3


	13. A Pirates Life for Me

Theme: None

o o o

The boy swallowed nervously, the tendons in his legs sending twinges of pain to his brain in warning that he would fall if he didn't hurry up and make his move. He watched the shopkeeper as the rotund man waddled across the stall, fussing with this or that, and occasionally pausing to pick his robe out of a fat-lined crevasse. Finally, finally, the man turned away, his attention caught by a gypsy troupe in the street, his beady eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The boy dropped near-silently from the stall's support beam, landing in a cat-like crouch behind a heavy crate of melons. One, two, three of the red-gold fruits were tucked under his arm, and he slunk back towards a narrow slit in the tent wall, eyes glued on the shopkeeper for any sign of the man turning.

He should have looked where he was going. His foot hit one of the tent supports, causing the metal trinkets for luck and prosperity hanging from it to jangle. The shopkeeper whirled, saw him, and roared in rage. The boy bolted, clinging valiantly to his spoils.

As fat as he was, the shopkeeper couldn't possibly keep up with him. But the market guards certainly could. The penalty for theft was having one's hand 'removed', and a boy such crippled would be the easiest of prey. So he ran, literally, for his life, melons clutched against his chest as he ducked stalls, people, and a barking dog.

"Jacky!"

He looked up at the sound of his name. He was down by the shore now, and a low-slung building was at his left. John was on top of the building, keeping pace with him as he ran. "Toss 'em, Jack!" The older boy yelled, arms held out as he ran. Jack didn't hesitate, throwing up the melons one by one for John to catch. Once all three were up John veered away out of Jack's sight, and the boy ran all the harder, guards still hot on his trail.

He turned a corner, then another, and found himself in a dead end, a high fence blocking his path to the docks. He scrambled up the wooden slats as fast as he could, and shrieked when a hard hand closed around his ankle. He looked down into the guard's harshly grinning face in time to watch a rock split the man's cheek open. The guard howled, losing his grip on Jack's foot, and more rocks rained down on the me below. A brief lull in the rain of stone came, and a hand closed around Jack's arm, yanking him up. Jack grinned up at James, the oldest of the trio grinned back, then sent one last stone at the guards below before the two boys jumped down the other side of the fence and ran off.

They ate their breakfast on top of one of the dock-side warehouses, sticky juice running down their faces and arms. John and Jack sat side by side along the peak of the roof, while James perched on the cool chimney and stared out at the forest of ship masts crowding the harbor.

By then, John knew his friend well enough to know that James was doing some serious thinking. He nudged the boy's foot with his elbow. "What's runnin' through yer mind, James?" He asked. "Y' look like it's eating at ya somethin' fierce."

James jerked his chin at one ship in particular, a huge thing that flew the colors of the British Navy. "I'm going t' own me one o' those some day." He said.

John snorted, taking another bite of his melon. "Y' want t' go to Eton, too." He said, spitting a seed down the slope of the roof. "An' be a Lord General, an' have a hundrit ladies at yer beck and call, and all that rot. You got some high dreams for being a gutterbrat, Jamesie."

James glared down at John, dark brows furrowed. "Well, what else we got, but dreams? You got some too, Johnny Silver. Let's hear 'em."

John grinned, tossing aside his melon rind. "Oh, I aim to own me a ship, too." He said, standing. "But not under the thumb of any navy or comp'nay. I'd rather go pirate."

Now was James' turn to snort in derision. "You? A pirate?"

"Aye." John said, posing dramatically. "Cap'n Johnny Silver, fiercest pirate to ever sail. Escaped capture a hundrit times, with the help of his ol' Eton friend, Cap'n James Cook."

James grinned, hopping down from the chimney. "Captain's James and John," He said. "Two o' the slip'riest bastards on the sea. Walked right into the King's banquet, they did, and stole a kiss from the Queen herself before they was recognized."

Jack looked up at his older friends, eyes bright. "Can I be a pirate, too?" He asked excitedly.

The older two laughed, reaching down to grab Jack's hands and pull him to his feet. "O' course." John said, clapping the youngest boy on the shoulder. "We can't be forgetting the infamous Jacky Sparrow, can we? Fastest thief on the waters, he is. While the good Cap'ns were stealing their kiss, ol' Jack was stealing the jewels right from the King's crown!"

Jack laughed, climbing up on the chimney to look out over the harbor. "Mum's 'round the world'll tell their kiddies stories 'bout us for a hundred years after we're gone. 'Bout the time we went to the King's ball-"

"An' the time we escaped from right under the Chinese Emperor's nose." John added.

"And the islands we discovered," James continued. "Where we built a pirate paradise."

"And when we made a deal with Davy Jones himself, and came out on top." Jack finished.

They looked out over the ship masts towards the glint of the ocean, each mentally writing the story of his life, and none able to imagine just how far they'd really go. "They'll need _two_ hundred years just to tell all the stories we'll write." James grinned. He turned towards his friends, holding out one hand. "A promise, then." He said. "Wherever life takes us, one day, we'll meet again and become pirates."

"Promise." John said, dropping his hand on James'.

"Promise." Jack echoed, doing the same.

"Ey, who be up thar?" Bellowed a voice up the chimney. "Get thee gone, 'fore I call the guards o' the watch!"

"We best be off, boys." John said, eyeing the chimney warily. "Mayhap we can go down to the docks, find a days work."

"Last one to the docks steals lunch." James yelled, skidding down the roof's slope. The other two let out protesting yells and followed.

o o o

I love pirate stories, and god knows how, but Jack Sparrow has worked his way right up there with James Hook and Long John Silver in my mind. And I was quite sad when Hook didn't come back in KHII and parter up with Barbosa because that would have been win.


	14. Family

Theme: 46. Family

o o o

Ienzo strode down the city streets, the hem of his coat flapping around his ankles. His lips moved in a silent litany, testing conversation scraps and dismissing them, planning for the confrontation to come. Not that his opponent would _know_ it as a confrontation, but she had always been able to read him like few others could, and could usually see through his lies. Normally, he wouldn't even try to lie to her, but in this case, he didn't want to worry her unnecessarily, and if she knew what kind of trouble would befall the world if they failed, she would find a way to stop him. No, it was best if she didn't know.

Frowning absently, he crossed the street and mounted the porch of a particular house. He opened the door without knocking, and immediately ducked a flying frisbee aimed at his head. The frisbee sailed out the door as Ienzo straightened, looking down at his tiny assailant.

The girl looked up at him, pale hair falling over her face. "'Zo." She said simply, her lips curving in the tiniest of smiles.

"Hello, Fuu." Ienzo replied. "Do you try to kill everyone who walks in the door nowadays?"

"Didn't knock." Fuu replied, walking up to him and holding up her arms.

Ienzo smiled and scooped the girl into his arms. "I'll remember that next time." He said.

"Ienzo?" Came another voice from around the corner. A woman appeared, with the same pale hair as the other two. "Well," she said. "What brings to you to this part of town?"

"An opportunity of a life time, mama." Ienzo replied. "For you and Fuu."

His mother raised an eloquent brow and turned, leading the way into the front room. Ienzo followed, sitting on the couch with Fuu in his lap. Their mother sat in her armchair and waited her son to continue.

Ienzo sighed mentally. This would be the hard part, hiding his true intentions. "There's a ship, going to a nearby world." He said, as Fuu determinedly yanked at his tie, undoing the precise knot. "It's a mission of good faith, between this world and that one, and Lord Ansem has told us that several citizens would go, as ambassadors of a sort. He asked us for suggestions, and I thought that maybe you'd like to go." It was a lie, all of it. Ansem had no idea what his assistants were planning to do, to him, to the world, and to themselves. If everything went as they planned, they would gain an immeasurable amount of knowledge and power - but the tiniest mistake, and their world was finished. Those of them with families - Dilan's young wife, Braig's brother and children - were sending them away, just in case.

She looked at him for a long moment, assessing his words. "How long?"

"Just a couple weeks." Ienzo replied. That, at least, was truth, as long as they didn't screw up. "It'll take a few days to get to Twilight Town, and you'll spend about ten days there, learning about their way of life, and the Lord would like a report on your experience when you return." Not that Ansem would be there when - if - she came back, but no sense telling her that.

Fuu twisted around in his lap, now wearing his abused tie around her neck. "You?"

Ienzo shook his head. "I'm needed here." He said. "But you can tell me all about it when you get back."

Fuu shook her head, almost violently. "No."

He sighed through his nose. "Fuu-"

"No." She said again, with all the determination a five year old could muster. "You go, too."

He looked at her. "Do you even want to go?" He hadn't counted on this. So unlike him, to miss something so important. He had concentrated only on convincing his mother, not his sister as well.

She bit her lip, then nodded. "With you."

"Fuu, I can't."

"_Why?_"

"Because we're working on something very important." He said. "And I need to be here to do my part." She gave him a look that clearly said '_more important than me?_' and he sighed again. "How about this, Fuu," He said. "You do this for Lord Ansem, for _me_, and if you like the place, we'll all go on a nice long vacation, just the three of us." He looked up at his mother, smiling. "Assuming mama wants to go, too."

The woman smiled at her children. "It is quite the opportunity, as you said, Ienzo." She looked at Fuu. "Well, love? Shall we go scout out this possible vacation spot?"

Fuu looked back at Ienzo. "Promise?"

Ienzo nodded. "Promise."

Fuu nodded back, then looked at her mother. "Let's go."

"Twilight Town it is, then."

o o o

And as for this one, it was entirely inspired by seeing Fuu's picture in the KHII journal without my glasses on and thinking 'HM, when did Zexion get new clothes?' I should just call this story 'Glances at the Organization'


	15. Tower

Theme: #54. Tower

o o o

It really wasn't fair. It wasn't _their_ fault they were older than the rest of them. It wasn't their fault they'd gone through a growth spurt, and it REALLY wasn't fair that Kairi and Selphie could manipulate them so well.

Riku looked down, perched precariously on Wakka's shoulders. Above his head dangled a tooti-bird nest, who's eggs made a delicious snack. "How'd we get suckered into this?" The silver-haired boy asked sourly.

Wakka went to shrug, and though better of it. "We're th' tall ones, ya?"


	16. Rejection

Theme: #60. Rejection

o o o

Something was poking him.

He remembered running, as far and as fast as his legs would carry him, hoping, in some obscure corner of his heart, to outrun the very curse he'd brought upon himself. But even as the yards stretched into miles, his four legs never became two, his paws never became fingers, his teeth never settled back inside his mouth where they belonged. So, he ran, away from the castle, away from the Rose, away from the pained, accusing looks of his servants, away from the beautiful, terrible reminders of what he had been and what he was now.

He didn't remember collapsing into a gully, exhausted, but apparently, he had, as something was now dragging him out of a deep, nauseous sleep by prodding at his furred back. The cursed prince rolled over, a growl in his throat, and came face to face with something large, green, and _smelly_.

He screamed, a noise that was half roar, and the green thing let out a startled noise and flailed back. They stared at each other for a moment, the furred prince, and the green man-shaped creature, before the prince tried to stand. But his paws were scored by rocks and slick with half-dried blood, and he quickly went down again, this time with a yelp of pain. The green thing moved closer, and the prince tried to turn his head and growl menacingly, though it sounded more like a whimper. He saw it plant hands the size of hams on it's hips, and actually _speak_, it's voice heavily accented, and equal parts wondering and disgusted. "What in th' world're yew s'posed t' be?"

The prince debated just laying there and not answering, pretending to be a dumb animal, but he really didn't relish the idea of becoming this thing's pet - or dinner. "A monster," He growled finally. "Leave me be."

The thing snorted, and the prince was astonished when he was scooped up into heavy, hairy green arms. "Pretty sorry monster, if y' ask me." It said. "My lit'lest one's scarier then yew are."

They were moving, somewhere, and the prince struggled weakly in the thing's grip. "Where... where are you taking me?" He rasped.

"Yer hurt an' bleedin' in mah swamp." It answered from somewhere over his head. "An' I went and got a soft heart sometime, so I can't jus' leave y' out here." The prince frowned to himself, and struggled again, but the thing was strong, and he gave up. They carried on in silence for a time, when it spoke again. "So, what're y' doin' out here, anyway?"

The prince closed his eyes, seeing Cogsworth and Lumere behind his eyelids. "Running." He muttered. "I...I brought a curse, on everything I know."

"A curse, eh?" It asked, thoughtful. "Though you sounded a wee bit high-brow for a monster. So, what were ya?"

"A prince," The furred boy muttered. "Now look at me."

"A right beast y'are now." The thing said cheerfully. "You know how yer s'posed to get rid of this, eh, curse of yours?"

The prince sighed, despair welling around his heart as he thought of the nigh-impossible terms the enchantress had set. "I have to learn to love." He said softly. "And I have to earn her love back."

"Is that all?" It asked quizically.

"Is that all?!" The price protested, struggling again. "Look at me! Who could ever love a-a-a 'right beast'?"

"The same type of girl who could love a huge, smelly, green ogre." The creature replied, stepping into a clearing. The prince gaped in astonishment. Four other green creatures looked up at them, three obviously children, one a full-grown female with fire-red hair and an almost pretty look to her odd face. They all made various noises of astonishment at the sight of the prince, and the boy realized with growing wonder that the _thing_ that held him actually had a _family_. "You can't live bein' afraid of rejection." The ogre said from somewhere above his head. "Otherwise, you drive away everything worthwhile."


End file.
